“The House at the Minute” with sgraffito art. Old Town Square, Prague Czech Republic

Sgraffito (Italian: [zɡrafˈfiːto]; plural: sgraffiti; sometimes spelled scraffito) is an art technique, practiced by applying layers of plaster tinted in contrasting colors and then scratching so as to reveal parts of the underlying layer(s).

Sgraffito on walls has been used in Europe since classical times, it was popularized in Italy in the 15th and 16th centuries and later in Austria, Germany and Eastern Europe, specifically Poland and Czech. Also it can be found in African art. In combination with ornamental decoration these techniques formed an alternative to the prevailing painting of walls. The technical procedures are similar to the painting of frescoes.

SPECIAL APPEARANCE: A noted Italian Fresco Conservator Elisabetta Covizzi Perfetti will be joining our workshop for a presentation and talk about fresco restoration and conservation techniques. Don’t miss!

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Fresco, The Eternal Medium

by Allison Ramirezon #GettyInspired

“…iLia Anossov has been mesmerized with art ever since he was a young child. To iLia, pursuing a career in art was the only thing that made sense. Looking for something everlasting, iLia focused on becoming a fresco master, because, as he told me, “What could be more eternal than fresco?”

He started the Fresco School in Los Angeles, and later was invited to teach fresco workshops at the Getty. Three years later, these workshops are still going strong and iLia continues to be #GettyInspired…”

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Be the First to Test Drive our all new Fresco School OnLine Apprentice Program!

I would like to personally welcome you to help us test the all new FS OnLine Apprentice Program (FSOA) at www.FrescoSchool.net!

Please excuse the “Pre-Launch state of affairs”. I work tirelessly to organize 25 years of notes and photos to make it available to you there! At this time (testing phase) the Registration is NOT fully open and will close when we fill the available spots.

Currently FSOA Freshman level is open for Public testing and FSOA Student Level is by invitation only from within the system.

Your feedback will help me to prioritize the content creation and give encouragement to do it at my own expense :). Be one of the first and be active – you will be rewarded with discounts and personal perks!

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Where does the ‘new’ come from in America? Who makes the new music, the new art, the new writing? It comes from within, from the ghettos of Harlem and Watts to the suburbs of Rye and Sherman Oaks. And it comes from without, from Cairo, from Tokyo, from Vienna and Moscow. Particularly Moscow. Look at Ilia Anossov’s work and you will see where the ‘new’ comes from and what it’s all about. It’s about frescos, one of man’s oldest art forms that Ilia has made new again. It’s about walls that sing with color and dance with form. It’s about the free, unbridled expression of feeling and emotion all over personal environments. It’s about living and loving with art. It’s about renewal – of the soul., of the body, of America. That’s where the ‘new’ comes from.

It was about a year after the Berlin Wall came down that I traveled to Moscow on a vacation. On a typically gray Russian winter day – slush, smog and bone chilling cold – walking the noisy streets not far from the Kremlin wall, my wife and I were drawn to a small gallery that displayed an interesting collection of Russian handicrafts and drawings.

iLia Fresco (Anossov) former, 1988-1992, studio in Moscow.

When we entered the gallery one painting hit our eyes. It was imposing, maybe four by six feet, but even more than its size the painting distinguished itself from everything else in the store by its vibrant color and active brush strokes. No matter haw many times we toured the little shop, my eyes were constantly drawn to that piece, and finally, I asked how much the owner was asking. A considerable amount of haggling ensued, ultimately ending in the owner insisting that I deal with the artist personally.

Little did I know that the cigar smoking slightly tipsy young painter I met twenty four hours later was destined to become my most frequent pen pal, and to this day, a constant source of amazement and wonder to me. Ilia Anossov sold me “Tree of a Thousand Bottles” but only on the condition that I permit him to introduce my wife and I to the lively scene of young painters working in the new freedom of Moscow. We took the painting and the once in a life time opportunity.

Since then, I’ve closely followed Ilia’s peripatetic life, purchased two more of his painting and remain constantly amazed at his openness, positive attitude and his extraordinary dedication to his work. This is a man who loves life and who says it over and over again with equal aplomb in a variety of media.

Mother’s Apples, iLia Anossov (fresco) – oil on canvas 1988

To know Ilia you need only take a close look at his work. Bold and bright, behind every straightforward expression of imagery there lies the sly smile of a complex thinker who always manages to remain fresh and new; upbeat and optimistic. This is an artist constantly searching for life’s meaning and the best way to express it. Not surprisingly, succeeds over and over again.
To Ilia – artist, thinker and lover of life… May your work always grow as you have, inwardly and outwardly simultaneously; and my you always paint the sky with all the rich, exotic colors of your Russian home.

“Fresco is a rigorous discipline with little margin for error, that requires you to leave your ego at the door, roll up your sleeves and dig in for the duration. Over the years, iLia has developed a method of teaching the principles of fresco in such a way that it does not infringe on personal style. iLia’s instruction is effective in transmitting not only the technical aspects, but also the proper attitude of respect toward the medium.”

Ioana B. Iconographer.

“I attended the LA fresco workshop with iLia. Eager to learn fresco with no prior knowledge of the history or process, iLia had a tall order to fill. And what a job of filling that order he did.

Karen B. Muralist.

“Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone” is a phrase from the “Conversation with God” books. As an oil painter of 24 years experience, I am comfortable using a layered oil painting technique that I developed over the years. My recent fresco class with Ilia and Ian took me out of my comfort zone in oils and thrust me into the uncomfortable realm of a new medium.

Ed K. Fine Artist

You met us at our Fresco Seminar or a Fresco Demo, have attended our Introduction to Fresco Workshop or simply found Fresco School searching online and want to know details on how it works?

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about me

I am a fresco painter. My work embodies large scale true (buon) fresco installations and fresco objects. My exhibition history includes museums and galleries internationally. My projects were featured on the covers of Architectural Digest USA, Italy, Germany and others. Also, I have designed and produced décor for several Academy Awards (R) Governor's Balls and other events.